Abstract:
Since mid-2012, New Zealand has been facing housing issues throughout the nation, with Auckland being no exception, having faced the most significant increase in house prices in relation to the rest of New Zealand. With an average price of $1,000,000 for new house prices in Auckland it is inevitable that the society needs to do something. Which brings us to ask what can 'architects' do to serve the society an alternative way of providing a solution to the housing crisis issues? The Auckland Council has been providing new policies that comprise of special housing zones. These sectors include 10% of affordable houses valued at approximately $500,000 for Aucklanders that required a home. However, are these 'houses' really that affordable? We must consider the increase in demand of houses and new suburban developments; an innovation that has been occurring for the past decade, including the Hobsonville Point and Stonefields, both located in Auckland. However even with the continuous developments, the demands of affordable houses still overwhelm the current supplies of houses in Auckland. The next upcoming and current developments are in the East by the Ormiston/Flatbush area, with a budget of $500 million from the Auckland Council. It is a new development site aiming to support the public for up to 36,000 people by 2025. The site is arguably predicted to be one of New Zealand's largest and most comprehensive townships. This thesis proposes a housing design that will be more affordable than the current proposed houses of Auckland, which will not solemnly be based on 'cost' alone, but more so on 'affordability'. The objective of the thesis is to challenge business-as-usual-practices to reconsider housing economics and practicality from an architectural design point of view. This will be done through involvement of an urban scale level as well as going into details of architectural level, including the network of roads, impervious surfaces as well as implementing the optical material of choices for the design of the buildings. This does not mean that the design will be discarding the matter of comfort, the aim of the design will not just primarily focus on the cost but will try to maximize the community value to enhance the living quality for the residents.